Another one bites the dust
Thailand is no longer a democracy. They were one of the most forward thinking and progressive democracies in south east asia. They were the poster child of a country going form military rule to funtioning democracy. Why step back and why not have this be front page news? Well the New York Times say it well
The coup was unlikely to affect the foreign policy of Thailand, a quiet supporting player in America’s effort to curb terrorism and a major economic partner after a strong rebound from the financial crisis of the late 1990’s.
But with the coup, Thailand became one more Southeast Asian nation that has reinterpreted democracy in undemocratic terms, either manipulating or sidestepping constitutional processes to achieve political ends.
NY Times
I am proud to be american but not proud when a toppling of an allied government is trumped by a fucking camel fucker . Also CNN is not mentioning the coup as of 11:47pm west coast time. Modern media is showing its true colors and that is to scare the public think that Iran is the danger. When the real danger is and always be un democratization .
Pakistan: Friend or Foe
In lieu of current events, there needs to be a closer look at the relationship that the US has with Pakistan. Pakistan is only an ally in words; their actions hide a country that is becoming more extremist and more sympathetic towards Osama Bin Laden. The country is one of the main areas where Afghan Taliban are hiding and launching a new offensive. The fact remains that the country is a military dictatorship where the western border with Afghanistan is porous and not under the control of the central government. It is that area that it is thought that Ossama Bin Laden is hiding.
Pakistan even after becoming an ally with the US has had problems controlling weapons technology. The A.Q. Khan nuclear ring sold technology and parts to Iran, Libya, Iraq and North Korea. Many of Pakistan’s top scientists were involved in the ring even though the government denies any knowledge of it. Even after the ring was exposed A.Q. Khan was given a pardon and put under house arrest while others involved go unpunished.
Pakistan has had a long relationship with terrorism and as a breeding ground for new terrorists. A Pakistani carried out the World Trade Center bombings in 1994 and the recently thwarted attempt involved mostly Pakistani’s or Britons of Pakistani decent. The architect of September 11th was an ethnic Pakistani. The rise in violence in Afghanistan at the end of June was the result of Taliban Militants re entering the country from Pakistan. The western provinces of Pakistan have little rule of law and are controlled by tribal leaders who are sympathetic to the Taliban and Ossama Bin Laden and are against the US efforts in the area.
With all these problems the US is still funding Musharraf’s government. Trying to get Pakistan as an ally the US gave “$600m straight up, promised to forgive $2 billion of debt”(Economist) . The US today is selling 36 F-16 aircrafts to Pakistan. In an area that is so unstable it seems to be a bad idea. Not only does this increase the arms war between India and Pakistan but gives a very powerful weapon that could easily fall into the hand of extremists.
So what is the solution? Pakistan needs to be a better ally. While the US is spreading democracy in the Middle East, it needs to demand that our allies are also doing everything possible to spread democracy. Pakistan also needs to do more to help its economy so that more people are feeling the effect of growth and so that there is a reduction in poverty. The government also needs to support less extremist political parties and strive to be a more moderate Muslim country. Pakistan should start to move towards a transparent democracy and many of the current problems will be alleviated. Good governance with a strong judicial system will help stamp out corruption and leaking of sensitive information. Pakistan has the ability to be a good ally but has along way to go.
Hello world!
So I switched to WordPress.com becuase this one is free and does almost everything that Type pad does. I think one of my blogs will be serious and tackle my views on politics and current events. I think this one will be the serious one while the other one will be more personal and discuss other issues. Like I said before I have nothing better to do and this will take up some time.
